GAMES 35-37 | ULM SERIES
ULM Softball Complex | Monroe, La.

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: April 22, 2022 | 6 p.m.
Game 2: April 23, 2022 | 1 p.m.
Game 3: April 24, 2022 | 12 p.m.

MEDIA INFORMATION
Television: None
Audio Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Web Broadcast: None
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

South Alabama JAGUARS 
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: 70 
Record: 17-17, 9-4 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .250 / .387 / .326
Team ERA: 2.71

ULM WARHAWKS 
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: 114 
Record: 23-17, 9-9 SBC 
Head Coach: Molly Fichtner (Alabama, '14)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .272 / .371 / .365
Team ERA: 2.97

SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (17-17, 9-4 SBC) enters the weekend series at ULM after picking up a 12-2, five-inning road victory at Nicholls State on Wednesday..
– The Jaguars posted season highs in both hits (15) and runs, while six players finished with two hits or better.
– Caroline Nichols led the attack as she was a perfect 3-for-3 and scored a pair of runs, while Kamdyn Kvistad reached base all four of her plate appearances going 2-for-2 with a home run and a pair of walks, three runs scored and three RBI.
– With the win, the Jaguars have won 11 of their last 15.
– Mackenzie Brasher leads the team at the plate with a .357 batting average, which is 10th in the league, and her 15 stolen bases are tied with three other players for fourth in the conference.
– Brasher's nine multi-hit games this spring also top the club.
– The junior outfielder has been even better in league play as she is batting .447 in those 13 games.
– Brasher also enters the weekend series with both a 17-game reached base safely streak and a seven-game hit streak.
– With her performance, Nichols raised her average to .325 and she has now had multi-hit outings in each of her last three.
– Like Brasher, Nichols has also been solid at the plate during conference play, batting .350, while Victoria Ortiz is hitting .314. 
– Three other players are just under .300 – Meredith Keel (.288), Emma Kropp (.283) and Ortiz (.265).
– Gabby Stagner (24) and Ortiz (19) rank first and second on the Jaguar roster, and have combined to drive in 33 in SBC play.
– Stagner has now driven in 19 runs against Sun Belt foes this spring with four of her five home runs coming in league play, including two in the series opener against Louisiana.
– Ortiz has also seen her power numbers jump as she has recorded six home runs in SBC action and all eight of her home runs this season have come since March 6. 
– The Mobile, Ala., native paces the club with 16 extra-base hits and has now driven in at least one run in six of her last eight outings.
– Ortiz's .663 slugging percentage is eighth-highest in the SBC, while she is just outside the top 10 of the league in doubles (7) and her eight home runs are tied with five other players for sixth-most in the SBC.
– Ortiz also has a team-high six multi-RBI outings, while freshmen Stagner is right behind her with five.
– Abby Allen leads the team and ranks fourth in the league with 25 walks, 16 of which came during a 21-game reached base safely streak earlier this spring. 
– Both Allen and Brasher have scored a team-best 20 runs this spring for the Jags. 
– Olivia Lackie (8-6) holds a 2.28 earned run average in her 98.1 innings of work. 
– The Walker, La., native has struck out 137 and is holding opponents to a .156 batting average, which rank third and second, respectively, in the league.
– She has gone the distance in nine of her 12 starts and holds five shut outs. 
– Jenna Hardy has been just as solid in the circle holding a 2.26 ERA in 90.0 innings of work in the circle, while she has struck out 71 and issued just 15 walks this spring.
– Hardy has been outstanding in conference play holding a 0.93 ERA and a 4-1 record.
– Lackie is also third in strike outs looking (42), while Hardy ranks sixth (28).

THE SERIES VS. ULM    
– South Alabama and ULM have met 46 previous times in the all-time series with 40 of those coming during the regular season. 
– The Jaguars hold a 37-9 series advantage and have won 18 of the 23 meetings on the Warhawks' home field.
– South swept the two games versus the Warhawks last spring in Mobile, picking up a 4-2 in game one of a doubleheader and then 5-2 in game two.
– The two teams have faced each other six times at the league championship event with South Alabama winning all six of those contests.
– The 46 series meetings are second most versus a Sun Belt opponent, and are two behind Louisiana (50).
– South has won all five of the games that have gone into extra-innings.
– USA also holds a 9-2 series record in run-rule games.
– South Alabama holds both a 12-game and an 11-game win-streak in the series.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE WARHAWKS    
Series: 37-9 (H: 14-4 / A: 18-5 / N: 5-0)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 31-9 (H: 13-4 / A: 18-5 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 6-0 (H: 1-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 5-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 5-0 (H: 1-0 / A: 3-0 / N: 1-0)
Run-Rule Games: 9-2 (H: 3-0 / A: 5-2 / N: 1-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 4/6/07
Last Meeting: 4/25/21
Longest South Alabama Streak: 12 ('11-'14) 
Longest ULM Streak: 2 ('08)
Current Streak: 2 by South Alabama
Last 5 – 2-3
Last 10 – 7-3

TURNAROUND MOMENT
– While it was just a 5-2 victory over Dartmouth (3/6) on the final game of the Tennessee Invitational, the three-run win has seemed to be a defining moment for the program this season
– Over the first 18 games of the season, South Alabama seemed to be struggling to find its way on both sides of the ball as the club was batting .219 and had scored just 42 runs (2.3 runs per game), while striking out 108 times (6.0 SO per game) compared to 25 walks..
– South also held a team ERA of 3.38 and a .954 fielding percentage.
– The Jaguar pitching staff had allowed 29 home runs and issued a total of 44 walks, 20 hit batters, while committing 21 errors.
– Since the three-run victory over the Big Green (12 games), South has posted a 12-4 record.
– As a club, the Jags are hitting .283 and have scored 85 runs (5.3 per game), while the Jaguar pitching staff holds a 1.99 ERA and the defense has been nearly flawless with a .979 fielding percentage over that stretch.
– The offense has also drawn 67 walks, while the pitching staff has issued just 25 walks, struck out 124, hit only one batter and held opponents to a .184 batting average over the 16-game stretch.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub.

—USA—